


Cold + Tired + Ow

by Kerkerian



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Being Trapped, Caves, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship/Love, Gen, Introspection, Jack being Jack, Papa Jack, Team as Family, injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:55:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24839539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kerkerian/pseuds/Kerkerian
Summary: Jack and Mac are trapped in a cave, both of them injured. Giving up is not an option though, as they both want to be strong for the other...
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 84





	Cold + Tired + Ow

**Author's Note:**

> Sadly, I don't own MacGyver.
> 
> This was inspired by the ending of "Monster Trucks" (in which Lucas Till, as expected, is awesome). =)

Watching MacGyver doing his thing was puzzling at times, but Jack also marvelled at his friend's ability to think on his feet and use whatever he could find to do so. In fact, he loved how utterly concentrated Mac's expression was on those occasions, how his mind focused on the problem at hand, how economical his movements became; it was like ballet, kind of. Every single step had a purpose.

Jack had always been able to tell what was going on in the kid's mind, since Mac's face was endearingly expressive, and he was a very emotional guy. He only hid his actual feelings when they were on a mission; in fact, he had quite an impressive poker face. He didn't see the need to use it when he was around his friends, however, therefore Jack had become rather adept in reading him.

What he saw now was a mixture of weariness and frustration in the feeble glow of his trusty SAK's LED light, but no fear, which was good. It meant that Mac still believed they might get out of this one, which was a relief, especially since they didn't have any tools except for said knife, and nothing else they could use, because they were surrounded by nothing but rocks. At least Jack thought so. Mac always found things he could use, after all.

Right then, however, Mac just stood there, thinking so intensely Jack could almost hear the little cogs in his brains whir, his shoulders slumped uncharacteristically. Well, they were both exhausted already, having spontaneously been redirected on their flight home, and on top of that, things had quickly gone pear-shaped. Now they were both still exhausted, a little worse for wear and, stupidly and literally, found themselves between a rock and a hard place once the dust had settled.

“Think it's the first time I've gotten trapped in a cave,” Jack said, just to break the silence.

Mac sighed: “Same here.”

“How's your shoulder?”

“I'll live,” Mac replied, immediately straightening up. “How's your wrist?”

“Same here.”

For a moment, they just regarded one another grimly, knowing that neither of them would ever admit to anything more, because they needed to function. Which not only meant gritting their teeth and getting on with it but also not having to worry about the other: they needed each other to be okay. So they had to be. Worrying in secret was allowed, however, as long as nobody made any fuss about anything.

Jack gave his partner a lopsided grin: “So? What's your plan?”

Mac shook his head: “I don't know. For now, there's enough air down here, but we can't move these boulders. Luckily for us, this is an active cave system, meaning there's flowing water somewhere. So... I guess we'll have to go spelunking, see if we can find it.”

“Oh, good. I've always wanted to go spelunking,” Jack said lightly. “To be fair, I always thought it sounded more like bar-hopping.”

This elicited a sardonic smile. “Come on,” Mac said. “Let's not lose any more time.” _And if we're very lucky_ , he added in the privacy of his mind, _it's an outflow cave and we'll actually get out of here_.

Since they were both a little battered, the already uneven ground was strewn with rocks of different sizes and they only had little light, it was tough going. Jack lost all sense of time; if he hadn't had his watch, he'd not have been able to tell how long they had already been in there. At first, they still talked to each other, but after a while, they fell silent; it was too much of an effort while at the same time having to navigate their way through such taxing terrain. At least the exertion kept them warm; the air was rather cold down there.

It wasn't only the ground or their condition that was giving them trouble; at times, the ceiling was so low they almost had to crawl, other times the walls closed in on them so they were in a kind of narrow corridor; once, they even had to move sideways to get through. Jack very much tried not to think about the claustrophobia he sometimes felt in elevators or other confined spaces, just as he was already trying not to think about the tons of rock above their heads. He started talking again, just to distract himself: “Yeah, I don't think spelunking is gonna be my new hobby. I'd rather be in a bar right now, to be honest.”

Mac, who heard the slight tremor in his partner's voice, huffed a little laugh: “So that I could kick your ass at Billard?”

“Excuse me?” Jack drawled. “If anything, I'd kick yours.”

“No way, old man.”

“Who're you calling old man, you little weirdo?”

“Want me to give you a lecture about speleology?”

“About what now?”

“Cave science,” Mac said with a grin.

“No thanks, I'm good. Wouldn't hurt to find that water soon though.”

“Yeah.” Mac was thirsty as well; he only hoped that the water, provided they found it, was drinkable.

“I never thought I'd say this, but I'd even prefer to be in a post-mission debriefing right now.”

“I'd rather be at home, working on my bike.”

“I'd rather be somewhere where you can surf all day and do the hula.”

“Still not over Kono?”

“Oh, I am. I just thought it'd be nice to actually spend some time on the beach next time we're in Hawaii. You know, enjoy the scenery.”

“We did that.”

“Yeah, for about two minutes after almost getting shot and before we had to get back to work.”

“Touché.”

After about three hours, the rocks around them changed ever so subtly; gradually, they began to take on a greenish colour just as the ground became more slippery.

“This is good,” Mac said. “Means the air's humid.”

“Hm.”

“Hey, don't worry,” Mac glanced over his shoulder at his friend. “We haven't gone further downwards, as far as I can tell, and that's a good sign too.”

Right then, the rather narrow corridor opened up to a much larger space again. Ten minutes later, they came upon a narrow, water-filled fissure. The water was crystal-clear and looked clean, so they drank from it, throwing all precaution to the wind, which Mac felt obligated to point out nevertheless.

“I don't care,” Jack said. “If this is poisonous, at least I didn't die of thirst.”

With a brief grin, Mac lowered himself onto one of the boulders, closing his eyes for a moment. His shoulder was throbbing fiercely by now, and he felt a little unsteady.

With a grunt, Jack landed next to him, cradling his left hand to his chest with his right. Neither of them said a word, but they leaned against one another for a bit, taking comfort in the other's solid presence.

“Okay?” Jack asked after a few minutes.

“Yeah. Just needed a break.”

They followed the water for a while; the fissure sometimes broadened into what looked like unearthly beautiful subterranian lakes, then again, it became nothing more than a narrow trench.

They had walked for roughly another two hours when the space around them opened up once more. They were standing in the largest cave they'd seen yet, and there was water everywhere. For a moment, they just looked at the incredible view; at the same time, an unpleasant realization began to dawn on them.

“Looks like we're gonna have to swim,” Jack said.

“Yup.” Mac's face was grim.

“I suppose I don't have to tell you that I don't like this,” Jack added as an afterthought.

“What's not to like,” Mac replied. “Icy water, using only one arm each- piece of cake.”

“Don't talk about cake,” Jack pleaded. “I can't take it.”

“Sorry,” Mac said. “You won't like what I'm gonna say next either.”

“So don't say it.”

“I have to say it.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay, out with it.”

“Since your left hand is useless and I can't move my right arm, we have no way to keep our cell phones dry. I'll take my knife between my teeth and hope for the best so the battery for the LED won't get wet, but that'll probably go wrong as well.”

“So basically, we're screwed.”

“Well, no- not yet. But it'll be much more difficult to get on without any light, and our cell phones are the only hope we got for Riley to find us.”

“You said she can't find us down here because of the tons of rock over our heads.”

“True. But if we get out of here, we still need to get an exfil. I doubt we're gonna make it through the jungle on our own.”

“Hey, sunshine, since when are you the pessimist in the family? That's usually my job.”

Mac's shoulders slumped again for a moment. “Sorry,” he said softly. “I'm tired, and this-” he waved his hand around, “is making me cranky.”

He was also in pain, Jack thought, and he wasn't at all sure if they'd get out anymore.

Jack regarded him sympathetically: Mac was pale, and his eyes were red-rimmed; he looked as though he was about to cry, which he'd not allow himself to do. Quietly and without any ado, as was his wont, he had reached the end of his tether, and there wasn't much that Jack could do about it, which made his heart clench.

“We'll manage,” he said softly but resolutely, putting his good hand on Mac's good shoulder and squeezing it. “Okay? We've survived so many impossible situations, we're not gonna let a stupid old cave finish us. Or some stupid old jungle.”

After a moment, Mac drew a deep, shaky breath and nodded: “'kay,” he muttered.

Jack gave him a smile: “Call me JackGyver, but I just had an idea.”

Mac looked at him sceptically: “Really?”

“Yes, really,” Jack echoed. “You know how I'm a Delta?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, contrary to what people like my old pal McGarrett might think, the SEALs are not the only ones who can swim.”

“And?”

“Well, I figured we could wrap our phones into one of our shirts, which I'll then put on my head. I can hold it with my elbow- you know, of the arm with the useless wrist at its other end- and swim with the other.” He beamed.

Mac's expression remained sceptical: “You think it'll work?”

“Course it'll work,” Jack said. “See?” He put his arm on his head and made swimming motions with the other. “Easy peasy.”

Mac still wasn't so sure, but they didn't have much choice anyway. So he shrugged, immediately flinching because of the pain that erupted in his shoulder: “Fine,” he gasped. “Help me take off my jacket and my shirt, will you?”

A few minutes later, Jack resembled what Mac imagined Little Red Riding Hood's grandma might look like. The phones were wrapped up on his head in both Mac's leather jacket and their shirts, and Mac had tied the long sleeves of his shirt around Jack's chin, hoping it might help to prevent them from slipping off. The chances of it staying on top however seemed slim if Jack couldn't hold on to it, especially since the bundle had become rather big.

Jack had grimaced: “For how long have you been wanting to do this, hm?”

“If Malcolm Reynolds can pull off a pretty floral bonnet, you can pull off this... heap. Thing.”

Jack huffed: “Malcolm Reynolds has never been trapped in a cave. But otherwise, thanks for the compliment.”

Mac smirked: “You just like him because he's a badass.”

“Exactly. Like me.”

“On the outside. Inside, you're more like a marshmallow. But then, so is he.” The smile Mac next gave him was sweet and innocent.

Jack shook his head: “Don't let him hear what you just said...”

The water was indeed breathtakingly icy, and it was never very pleasant to swim in one's clothes. So now Mac was struggling to keep up his head, his knife between his teeth, and swim with one arm; every movement jarred his shoulder, and the water was so cold that he felt numb after only a few feet. He couldn't see how Jack was faring, but judging from the gasping sounds behind him, he probably wasn't doing much better. Before they had gone into the water, Mac had tried to splint Jack's wrist with the hardwood casing of his phone and shoelaces to keep him from aggravating it too much; he just hoped it was working.

When they had finally reached the other end of the cave, they barely managed to get out of the water; the edge was slippery and dropped off steeply, so there was barely any foothold. Once they had succeeded, they just lay there for a while, shivering and panting. Neither could feel their feet anymore, and they both kept flexing their hands in the attempt to warm them up. Jack made little hissing sound whenever he moved the fingers of his left, however, and their efforts weren't very successful on the whole.

“Y-y-you... okay?” Jack eventually asked nevertheless.

“Y-yeah,” Mac sounded hoarse. “Y-y-you?”

“Y-yeah.”

“D-d-did you... d-drop the...”

“No... I's all g-good.”

Relieved, Mac closed his eyes for a moment, but he knew that he couldn't fall asleep. He'd probably not wake up anymore. With a tremendous effort, he pushed himself into a sitting position, almost gagging from the fresh pain that flared up in his shoulder; once he had himself back under control, he staggered to his feet and held out his hand to Jack: “Come o-on,” he said, unable to keep himself from trembling. “We g-g-gotta move.”

"D-did y-you s-swallow... th-the kn-knife?"

"I-it'd b-be d-dark... if I h-had."

"Oh. R-right..."

They struggled back into their still mostly dry shirts; Mac was also rather grateful for his leather jacket. He tried to offer it to Jack: “Just... until you're w-warm-”

“N-n-no, hoss, I don't n-n-need it,” Jack said with chattering teeth. “Already f-feeling quite... t-toasty, actually.”

The cave narrowed down to a corridor once more. After a while, they both stopped trembling so badly.

“Do you see that?” Mac eventually asked. “We're moving upwards.”

“Yeah.”

Another few minutes later, Mac stopped. “I can hear something.”

Jack also paused, straining his ears: “Something like a rushing sound?”

“Yes.”

They walked a little quicker. The fissure they had been following was now falling dry, but the rushing sound was steadily getting louder. Abruptly, the corridor opened up into another cave, and if Mac hadn't stopped and Jack hadn't grabbed his shirt to keep him from losing his balance, he'd have fallen down into a considerable crevice right in front of them. Panting, they staggered back a few steps.

There was light coming in from a narrow opening somewhere high up, and once Mac's eyes had adjusted to the new situation, he saw where the rushing sound was coming from: the opening was situated high on the opposite wall, and it was nothing more than a hole through which a stream was dropping into the cave, becoming a veritable waterfall. Mac estimated it to be only a few feet high but at least 20 feet wide; the drop looked about to be 40 feet deep. From the plunge pool, the water continued to stream into the crevice right below them; it probably ran into an even deeper reservoir that fed all the lakes in the cave system.

Defeatedly, Mac turned around to Jack: “There's no way we'll get out of here without help.”

Jack, who could have wept, impulsively reached out with his good hand and pulled Mac close. He was actually a little surprised not only at himself but also that his partner didn't resist when he hugged him as best as he currently was able to. On the contrary: Mac leaned into the embrace for a moment, hugging back with his one good arm: “I'm so sorry,” he muttered tiredly. “I thought we'd make it.”

“Hey,” Jack said gently into Mac's ear, which was just as well, since the water was making quite a ruckus, “we're not yet giving up, kiddo. Not now when we can already see the light. Literally.”

“But-”

“I'll put this down to your exhaustion et cetera,” Jack said, “but. Now that there's an opening, don't you think Riley might be able to locate us?”

After a moment of comprehension, Mac straightened up, pulling back a little: “You're right,” he muttered. “What was I thinking?”

Jack smiled tenderly: “Probably: _I'm cold_ , _I'm tired_ and _ow_.”

“I need to amplify the signal,” Mac said, his mind already reeling. “If we can boost it, we might have a chance.”

“See, I knew it was worth looking like a fool,” Jack quipped while he handed Mac his phone. "Though next time, I'll try the bonnet."

Four hours later, the Phoenix jet was on its way back to the States. Jack and Mac had both had a hot shower (which, considering that they were on a plane, sadly was limited to five minutes each but had been wonderful nevertheless) and changed into dry clothes. They had also eaten some hot soup to get warm from the inside; now, Mac was stretched out on the couch, wrapped into two blankets, and Jack was lying back in one of the chairs with his feet up, also wrapped into two blankets. Both of them were close to dozing, courtesy of their exhaustion and some rather strong painkillers.

“Thank you,” Mac muttered suddenly. “For not letting me give up.”

Jack cracked one eye open: “Anytime, kiddo,” he murmured. “But I gotta thank you too- for not letting me think it's hopeless for even one minute.”

At that, Mac raised his eyebrow a little: “I didn't?”

“No. But even if you had had your doubts- I wouldn't have. I know what you're capable of, so I'm team MacGyver in any case.”

“Thanks,” Mac muttered, the corners of his mouth quirking upwards. “Guess that makes me team _Jack_ Gyver.”

Beaming proudly and with a teensy bit of moisture in his eyes, Jack snuggled deeper into his blankets and allowed himself to finally doze off.

Mac listened to his friend's quiet breathing, pondering his words: it meant a lot of responsibility, always being the one whom the others expected miracles from. On the other hand though: it was very reassuring to have people believe in him, which was what family did, after all. And if Jack did it, it held more weight than if it had been any other person, because Jack was pretty damn great himself.

With a sigh, Mac closed his burning eyes, and it didn't take long to fall asleep as well.

The End

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm not a Native Speaker, therefore I apologize for any mistakes!
> 
> The bits about Malcolm Reynolds and his pretty floral bonnet refer to "Firefly", of course.


End file.
